Renato Sanches has barely made a splash at Roma this season, continuing to disappear behind his muscle injuries.
The 26-year-old Portuguese midfielder arrived in the Italian capital on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer, adding another option to Jose Mourinho’s squad after the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum.
Roma were fully aware of Sanches’ history of injury troubles and made it a condition in his loan deal, which only carries a €12m obligation to buy clause should the midfielder play 60% of their total matches this season. This figure would rise to €14-15m should he hit 75% of games.
As highlighted by Calciomercato.com, Sanches is far off hitting that mark, having only played 98 minutes of action across three games since his arrival in the summer.
The 26-year-old played 25 minutes against Salernitana in the season opener, then was sidelined for two games with muscle issues, then returned for 45 minutes against Empoli and 28 minutes against Sheriff before suffering a hamstring issue.
Tiago Pinto pushed for Sanches’ arrival at Roma, believing he could turn things around despite his injury history, whilst Mourinho was less keen and preferred options like Marcel Sabitzer or Daichi Kamada.
40 days have passed since Sanches’ injury and he still seems no closer to returning to the pitch. Roma’s hope now is to have him back for the Derby della Capitale against Lazio on November 12.